Airplane!, The Empire Strikes Back and Saturday Night Fever are among the 25 films picked for preservation by the National Film Registry due to their being deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant," reports ABC.

The 2010 selections - which also include All the President's Men, the Oscar-winning drama based on the Watergate scandal, Malcolm X, Spike Lee's searing bio of the slain Nation of Islam leader, and classic horror film The Exorcist - were chosen by various film guilds and archivists around the country. The Library of Congress also encouraged the public to submit nominees through its website.

To qualify for selection, a film must be at least ten years old and had some form of theatrical release.

Once chosen, the Library of Congress will attempt to determine the condition of the films and encourage the rights' owners or archives to send the films in for preservation.